For the Finance Ministry While the article, “India’s looming financial crisis”, by Ashoka Mody (Editorial page, June 12), has highlighted the rising burden of debt on households, it is worrying that the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), V. Anantha Nageswaran, recently downplayed the concerns over rising household debt and falling net financial savings, by declaring that households borrow solely to finance higher physical savings. His statement is not corroborated by facts. Of particular concern is his, and, by extension, the present dispensation’s lack of seriousness in the matter. Falling real income levels, rising inflation, and joblessness have been primarily responsible for the rise in household debt including unsecured credit card loans. The folly is being compounded by the exceptional...